"This is it. The point of no return." Chen Mo stood at the edge of the summit, his scales burning, his eyes blazing, the ice coffin strapped to his back. Before him, the Ancient Star Bridge stretched across the sky, a massive pillar of light that connected the mortal world to the heavens. "It's beautiful," he whispered. "It's terrifying." The bridge pulsed with ancient magic, its surface shifting and flowing like liquid starlight. It was massive, wider than any road he had ever seen, stretching from the highest peak of the continent to the golden soil of the Lower Immortal Realm. "You can still turn back," the Guardian Spirit said. "You can still return to the mortal world. You can still live your life." "I can't." "Why not?" "Because she's dying. Because she sacrificed everything for me. Because I promised her I would save her." "Promises can be broken." "Not this one. Not ever." He stepped toward the bridge. The light intensified, pulsing with power, with promise,

"Paradise was a lie."Chen Mo stood at the edge of the immortal borderlands, the ice coffin strapped to his back, his eyes fixed on the scene before him. He had imagined the Lower Heavens as a realm of beauty, of light, of peace. He had imagined golden streets and silver rivers and immortals who had earned their place through virtue and wisdom.He had imagined wrong.The borderlands stretched before him, a vast expanse of gray rock and choking dust. Massive mines dotted the landscape, their entrances like open wounds in the earth. And everywhere, everywhere, there were people. Mortals. Humans. Beings who had ascended from the mortal realm, hoping for paradise, finding only chains."What is this place?" he whispered."This is where mortals go when they die," a voice said. "This is where they serve."Chen Mo turned. An old man sat on a nearby rock, his body thin, his face worn, his eyes empty. He wore tattered robes and c